In 2012, an anime called Sword Art Online took the world by storm for its phenomenal visual graphics and story. It became an instantaneous success and still holds a significant impact on the fans in the anime community. The story takes place in the near future where a highly anticipated Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (VRMMORPG) Sword Art Online has been released and allows players to control their avatar’s body with their brainwaves using a helmet-like piece of technology called Nerve Gear. After its release, the players within the game find themselves unable to log out, because the game creator is holding all of the participants captive in the game unless they can defeat the hundredth floor of the game. However, if a player dies in the game or if a person in the real world attempts to remove the Nerve Gear helmet, the player will die in real life. This anime follows a young teenager named Kirito and all of the people and adversaries he encounters in the struggle for survival.

Reki Kawahara/ASCII Media Works/SAO Project

The launch of a sequel has been confirmed to air in 2014 following the ending of Sword Art Online: Extra Edition, a special OVA (original Video Animation) episode aired just prior to new years. Titled Sword Art Online II: Phantom Bullet, the series will kick off with a new game Kirito joins called Gun Gale Online (GGO) in which the primary choice of weapons is, of course, guns. In comparison to the swords and magic traditionally used in SAO and ALfeim in combat, GGO serves as a challenge to Kirito and his friends with this new kind of weaponry. The promotional video for Sword Art II provides a short teaser for a new heroine, Asada Shino’s avatar. Further information has not yet been released, but fans can rest assured that Sword Art Online II: Phantom Bullet will be aired later this year.

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